Wednesday, June 3, 2015

David Axelroid, the political strategist who ran both of President Barack Obama's campaigns and did a spell as his senior advisor, stopped in Milwaukee as part of his book tour. While here, he gave a brief analysis of Scott Walker's chances of being the GOP nominee:

Walker appears to sit in the top tier of Republican candidates, Axelrod said, but warned that current appearances mean little. It remains to be seen how Walker will handle a presidential campaign, which is vastly different from a gubernatorial campaign, he said.

Specifically, Axelrod pointed to Walker's campaign style as a potential weakness. Walker likes to run his own campaigns, he said, which is not a feasible strategy in a presidential race.

In a separate question-and-answer session with reporters, Axelrod also noted the dangers of pandering to a party base in order to secure a nomination and "render(ing) yourself unelectable" to the general population.

"Campaigns are like an MRI for the soul, so whoever Scott Walker is, the American people will know by the end of this process," Axelrod said.

Given Walker's tendency for micromanagement, his megalomania and his dark soul, it doesn't look too good for the Weasel.